Red pants

So far, I have worn these pants only twice. I am not too worried because I got them free when I bought something else at H&M. I had great expectations for these pants when I first bought them because I thought I could put together really creative outfits, but so far I have only paired them with a whitle turtleneck and this black sweater and white blouse combination. I have not been daring enough to pair them with any other colors. But maybe that's the point of wearing red pants. The other parts of the outfit can be simple to let the pants stand out.
H&M Sweater: $20; Ann Taylor Blouse: $16; H&M Red Pants: Free; Nine West Shoes: $40

Work to evening

I have seen a lot of bloggers wearing maxi dresses and skirts and I wanted to try it out for work. I really like how it looks with a jacket and scarf. The best part is that when it's really cold in the office and its really hot outside I can take off some layers. It's also a nice transition from work to going out. And apparently maxi dresses are really in for fall, so I am a season ahead of schedule. Points for being early.

Kohls jacket; Target Maxi dress; H&M scarf; H&M purse; Sam Edelman sandals

Consignment skirt

So I got this skirt via the consignment shop that I frequent in Pittsburgh. There is nothing better than finding something both stylish and unique in the perfect size and better yet, for $12. I think I am a romantic at heart and finds like this floral print skirt are evidence of that. I just fell in love with the bright red pattern and neutral background. Although floral prints are in right now, I swear I made them popular 2nd through 3rd grade. My love affair clearly never ended.
Ann Taylor Loft Blouse: $16; Macy's INC skirt: $12; Nine West shoes: $40; J.Crew necklace: $20

Sailor suit

Check out that pretty tree blooming. It has been going crazy this past month. I love when it blooms. I picked out this outfit mainly to wear this scarf I found at a consignment shop over the weekend. The print is actually more equestrian than anything and reminds me of something from Ralp Lauren, except that it was $3!! When I added the red coat and the striped shirt I realized how over-the-top nautical it was. Maybe I went a litte "overboard", but I don't wear this red coat enough and there are only so many cooler spring days left, hopefully.
H&M Coat; Ralph Lauren striped shirt: $20; The Limited pants; Consignment scarf; J.Crew purse: gift; Mudd shoes: hand me downs

Zebra stripes with pink

I have been wearing a lot of skirts to work lately. The weather is finally warm enough that I don't have to wear pants. Yes! I bought this shirt at H&M a couple of years ago. Now that stripes are really in, I thought I would pair the black and white neautrals with this bright skirt, which I styled differently here. I ate my lunch and read Vanity Fair at the park near work today. It almost looks a little too warm to be wearing tights in this picture, but I assure you there is still a coolness in the air.

Spring sequins

My friend Dan and I went to this outdoor mall where they have restaurants and shopping. After being told that the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed for a private party we had to choose a more upscale establishment. All we wanted to do was sit outside. So we waited for the table on the patio for 30 minutes. We didn't have the friendliest waitress in the world but we made the best of a beautiful night. Here I am trying to incorporate sequins into my everyday work look. This tank top from the Limited is about 3 years old, and I never wear it during the day. This is a nice way to play with the classic white shirt with black skirt combo.
NY & Co. blouse: $15; Limited tank; Skirt: gift; Nine West pumps: $40; J.Crew necklace: $20; T.J. Maxx purse: $20; Pac Sun Sunglasses: $10

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone

I have been away for a while because A. I am always at a loss for good outfit ideas during these transitional months and B. I have been really lazy. Every night when I get home from work I have been so tired lately that I can't exert enough energy to plan out my outfit so I have been throwing on whatever works. This morning was the same routine, but I remembered that I had this skirt and all of the other pieces fell into place. I purchased this skirt with my 40% off discount when I worked at Ann Taylor Loft. That discount makes me wish I still worked in retail, but the pull to go back is never strong enough for some reason.
H&M Trench Coat: $30; Target turtlneck: $10; Ann Taylor Loft skirt; Franco Sarto Boots: $80

Easy outfit when you don't want to get out of bed

I really love this shirt/sweater combo. It's one of my go-tos when I can't think of anything to wear, but I still want what I like to call a "creative" outfit. The contrast of the blue and purple is fun. I also love wearing those slimming black pants with just about anything. They make me feel thinner and longer. And you can't go wrong with a pair of comfy loafers, right?
H&M purple sweater: $20; New York and Company Blouse: $15; H&M Black Pants: $20; Target Loafers: $20

Wall mural photo shoot

We had an idea for a photoshoot when we saw this random wall mural. It was a gray day and we thought the crumbling old wall would look cool next to my bright umbrella and dressy coat. We were on our way to Whole Foods where we had an impromptu antipasti misti.
Victoria's Secret herringbone coat; H&M corduroy pants: $10; Cashmere turtleneck: gift; Target loafers: $20; J.Crew umbrella: gift

Nauti stripes

This is one of the more casual looks I wear to work, but that's because we're business casual. We basically can wear jeans as long as they don't have holes in them. Some people abuse the rules and wear hooded sweatshirts. I have even seen some sweat PANTS. That's just crazy. I was trying to incorporate my striped shirt into a good look for the office and this is how it came out. I really wanted to use a true nautical stripe, but this will do for now.
Kohl's jacket; H&M scarf: $14; H&M striped shirt: $20; H&M pants: $10; Shoe Dept. Shoes

Chanel inspired look

I was inspired by the movie Coco before Chanel yesterday and decided to wear black and white to work today. I tried to keep everything else really simple. Usually I am not someone who wears black on black, but I knew I wanted to try it out. I actually felt really stylish all day. I tried to add little parisian details like the red lipstick and side chignon. Those details especially pulled the look together.
Nordstrom Cardigan: $26; New York and Company Blouse; The Limited Pants; DSW flats; Mom's vintage beaded necklace; Revlon red lipstick

Lights and Darks

Here is my first attempt at taking pictures outside in a while. It has finally been warm enough and sunny. I don't think I would normally pair a light colored outfit like this one with black tights, but I am a "fashion risk-taker" and everything has been edgier lately from biker jackets to leather skirts and leggings.
TJ Maxx blouse: $20; H&M skirt: $29.50; Tights: ?; Shoes: Shoe Dept.; Ann Taylor Loft Headband; Rose Quartz necklace: gift

She wore a rasberry blazer

I'd like to think my red blazer is as cool as Prince's Rasberry Beret, but it's just not. I am definitely trying to find that fine line between warm weather and cold, when you don't know how to dress because in the morning it is 35 degrees but by the afternoon it is 60 degrees. In these situations I usually go for good leg coverage because no one wants to get stuck in a 40 degree rain storm wearing a skirt. I also don't go with anything that is too tight because that can create pit stains and discomfort. So this loose blazer and airy tank top work perfectly.
Consignment blazer: $12; Filene's Basement top: $20; H&M black pants: $20; Aldo shoes: $80

Groovy girl

For whatever reason, I associate scarves and hoop earrings with the 1960s/70s. Throw that in with long straight hair and you are really groovin. Yikes. That is some corny writing folks. Not only am I spewing cliche terms, but I am also behind on my posts. This outfit is from Friday. It was feeling unseasonably warm and it was nice to just pick out a fun top instead of a top, a cardigan, a jacket for my cardigan, and a coat for my jacket.
H&M stripe sweater dress; Arden B Jeans; Aldo shoes; Scarf: prize; H&M earrings

Neutrals

Neutrals and light colors are big trends for spring, which is why I tried to be creative with what I already own. I tried this with a khaki skirt, but the skirt was making me look too hippy (it's really poofy), so I opted for this gray skirt instead. To follow the trend for spring and carry it into summer, I would probably replace the skirt for a khaki color, "safari" clothes are also very in, and the top for a brighter color to pop against the neutral. (P.S. It's a very sunny today!)
Gap shirt; American Apparel Skirt: $36; Ann Taylor Loft tights: $12; Shoes: I don't remember; Target scarf: an exchange
See this skirt styled differently here and here.

Spring forward

I know it's not spring yet, but I have been waiting for the perfect day to break out this floral print dress with some layering action. I wore this dress for my friend's rehearsal dinner last summer. It actually poofs out a little at the waist but under this sweater it just looks like a skirt. There is no occasion for it other than the fact that it's finally March and the weather just has to get better, it just has to!
H&M Sweater; Gabriel Brother's Dress: $20; Target tights: $12; Aldo flats: $36; Nine West purse: $20; Rose quartz necklace: gift
See another way to wear this dress here. I am already thinking of another remix for this dress.

Blazing colors

I was inspired the other day by this image from Stockholm Streetstyle. It immediately made me think of my colorful scarf and black blazer.

Even though this was probably one of the coldest stormiest days all winter, I wore this very colorful scarf because I'm not giving up just yet. Although I don't know how many more winter storms I can take, we were allowed to leave early, so I'm not complaining.
H&M Blazer: Gift; J.Crew long sleeve white shirt: $20; Levi skinny jeans: $60; Avalon Consignment in Pittsburgh Booties: $12; H&M Purse: $10

And here is a little side braid inspired by Alexander Wang's runway models.

Colorful stripes

This outfit isn't that interesting other than the fact that I got this sweater at the Gap for $12. And that Malia Obama has the same sweater. Yes! But seriously I think it's a fun outfit for work.
Gap sweater: $12; American Apparel skirt: $32; Ann Taylor Loft Tights: $15

J.Crew inspired outfit on the cheap

Sorry for the bad quality of this image, but I have had a period of separation from my camera and a camera phone is the best I could get. I really wanted to share this outfit because it was inspired by the J.Crew outfit above. I knew I wanted to recreate it, but I couldn't afford to buy all of the pieces from J.Crew. So I looked in my closet and put this together. Notice I am wearing Hunter Wellingtons. I was wearing high heels with this outfit in the office, but while getting dinner, I just left on my boots. I love these boots. And since we were trying a new burger and beer restaurant, I felt that my lack of formal shoe wear was acceptable. (We went to the new Michael Symon restaurant in Cleveland called, Bspot. It's delicious) I think the boots especially compliment a girly outfit like this one. (H&M Dress: $29; J.Crew striped shirt: $20; H&M Scarf: $15; Ann Taylor Loft Tights: $15; Hunter Wellington Boots: $115)

Moto Magic

One way to blur the line between tough and sweet, is to splurge on the new moto-style sweatshirt jacket. When I say splurge, I mean spend $15 at Forever 21. I saw several today in all different colors, and I think it adds a little edge to any outfit. I'm probably not going to be riding a motorcycle anytime soon, but at least I look like I could hop on the back of a moped...or at the very least, a bicycle.

(Sigh)

Boho Chic: You decide

One of my favorite outfits to wear on the weekend is a dress over jeans regardless of the weather. It's just comfortable and by adding a scarf and a long sweater it turns into a cute boho chic look.

When I submitted my outfit to Glamour I recieved a lot of constructive criticism. Some tips I will use in the future and some I probably won't, but it was really helpful to find out what people actually thought of what I was wearing. That's why I want you to choose which scarf/outfit combination you like best.

I personally like the top scarf because I think it matches the best. I like the cream scarf and the light blue scarf, but I wasn't sure how those scarves look with the whole outfit and how well they match.